Assessing the University Virtual Library Spaces for Digital Information Services in Nigeria

Abstract

The university Virtual Library Space VLS is increasingly becoming a strategic source for information access. The digital libraries are opening up avenue to information for the virtual library users whose number is increasing exponentially. This current study assessed the use of VLS at the university library in Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was used with a population of 233 academic librarians at the federal, state and private universities in South-South zone of Nigeria. With a sample size of 213 (91.4 %) of the population who responded to the online questionnaire that were analysed, the findings shows that university libraries are at the threshold of increasing access to digital information with advancement in VLS. The finding showed that most university libraries in Nigeria have developed one form of virtual/digital space such as ILS, ERM, social media sites, library website, web catalog, institutional repository and library Blog. The findings revealed that more than 50 % of the respondents attested that they have used VLS frequently on daily, weekly, monthly and bi-monthly to disseminate digital information such as e-books, e-journals, dataset, lecture notes, students projects, e-thesis and dissertations, inaugural lectures, laboratoryresults and conference proceedings. The findings further showed that the major challenges facing the use of VLSat the university library were inadequate funding, lack of training, poor technical support, irregular power supply,poor internet connectivity, lower bandwidth and inadequate ICT infrastructure. The study concluded with specificrecommendations to enhance the use of VLS at the university library for the benefit of library patrons.